


like the roll of a colossal drum

by tesla_loves_pigeons



Series: never to be satisfied with the present [5]
Category: 19th Century CE RPF, Classical Music RPF
Genre: Gen, Lightning - Freeform, POV Second Person, Thunder and Lightning, Thunderstorms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-09-22
Packaged: 2020-10-25 19:30:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20729570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tesla_loves_pigeons/pseuds/tesla_loves_pigeons
Summary: Pyotr experiences a thunderstorm





	like the roll of a colossal drum

_ 1880  _

The evening is starting fine. You are enjoying your tea out on the balcony, resting after your 2-hour walk. That’s when you hear it. The distant rumbling. At first, you think it might be the train, but you remember that you cannot hear the train from here. You cannot figure out what this sound is for the life of you. Until the sound gets louder. And you start to see a big black cloud come in from the south. 

The whole spectacle is fierce and beautiful. You cannot believe your eyes. Or ears. There are no separate thunderclaps or lightning. It is extraordinary. 

The cloud passes. Bringing with it wind, rain, hail, and destruction. You cannot look away as the storm tears trees apart and the hail breaks your window panes. But, there is an end to everything. Eventually, the storm is done. 

However, several hours later, you see another cloud from the west. 

You aren’t afraid of thunderstorms anymore. So really you should be fine. You are 40 for christ’s sake! But, when you see that the lightning is hitting the ground outside your home you cannot help but feel like a small child again. Your old fear of thunderstorms coming back. 

To protect yourself, you hide in your bedroom. Your face is buried in your pillow and for your comfort, you make Alesha stay with you. 

This storm, like the first, also passes. Then there is a third. 

You stand at the open window at 1:00 am watching the flashes of lightning and listening to the distant rumbling. You stand here for a long time. 

As you stand at the window, you wonder if you should write home about what you saw.

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a real night that Pyotr spent in the village of Somaky (known as Simaki when he was alive). He then wrote a letter about it to his brother-in-law Lev Davydov. You can find the Russian version here - http://en.tchaikovsky-research.net/pages/Letter_1547  
Or, you can check out the book Tchaikovsky, Letters to his Family An Autobiography!


End file.
